I don’t really write about the Arsenal Women. I’m a follower, of course, I want them to do well, and of course I watch when I can, but I can’t profess to be an expert or know all the details about the WSL or Women’s Champions League, so I kind of hold my hands up and leave it to the experts. But that doesn’t mean I can’t be thoroughly happy and overjoyed for them getting to their second successive Champions League semi-final, where they will play Lyon or Wolfsburg over two legs. Good on them.

And double kudos for them this morning, after they beat Chelsea, for which we remind ourselves that in any walk of life, Chelsea are the bad guys/girls.

It is ALWAYS good when Chelsea and their fans are sad. Let us remind ourselves of this.

In the men’s game, they are also the side who have posted the biggest loss, as well as paying out the most on agent fees. If Todd Boehly were playing Moneyball, I think he didn’t get the purpose of Brad Pitt’s movie. Because that ain’t it, mate.

Why am I bothering to talk about them on an Arsenal blog? Well, partly, because I think it means something for their next Premier League game. Because they play Man City at home on the weekend that we have Bournemouth at home, and we really need Chelsea not to be sh*t. And Todd and his CFO need them not to be sh*t too, because if they miss out on Champions League money, posting up the biggest loss in Premier League history is going to be very problematic for them. As a reminder, going deep in the Champions League is worth three times more than the Europa League.

Chelsea are currently one point behind Liverpool in the Premier League, in sixth. I believe that the likelihood is that fifth place will be enough for a spot this season, so Chelsea needs to keep on Liverpool’s coat-tails. On Saturday, Liverpool are at home to Fulham, which I think most of us expect them to win, so if Chelsea don’t get something against City on Sunday, then with six matches to play, they might be four points off Liverpool, and qualification is looking bleak.

That is good for us. It means Chelsea will not be a side that is starting to check out next weekend. They simply cannot afford to: Literally. I know the players will not be thinking about the financial ramifications of non-qualification for Europe’s premier competition, but they will be aware of the club’s financial needs, as well as their own sporting desires.

So my hope is that, providing we can overcome Bournemouth (not an easy task), we can really ramp the pressure up.

But here I am, already looking at the Premier League when, in fact, we have a certain in-form Southampton team that stands between us and another trip to Wembley. And having looked at their form, they have every right to feel quite bullish going into this one. For one thing, it’s a sort of ‘free hit’ for them. They have an important game in midweek next week against Wrexham that could cement their place in the playoffs with six games to go for a win, so they can’t really afford not to be giving 100% in that one, especially as it is away. So I will be really interested to see what Tonda Eckert has to say about the game. Is he going to give hints of a bit of rotation that is needed as the season draws towards a climax? Or is he going to see this as an ideal opportunity for a very big scalp and a proving ground for why Southampton can qualify for Premier League admission and hold their own by playing their best team?

We’ll have to wait to see when he does his press conference tomorrow, but today I decided to have an early look at how their fans are feeling. Here are a couple of select quotes from one of their forum ahead of the game:

I’d rather lose in regulation time than win in over time. Our priority has to be returning to the Premier soccer ball league

And:

I want us to go strong for this, as surely we do have a chance, albeit a slim one. We arent some League One/Two team who are just here for a fun day out and play teams like this once every 100 years. We were in the same division as them (and have been most seasons) until last summer. Only 10 months ago we drew 0-0 at home to Man City and lost narrowly (1-2 to an 89th min Odegaard goal) to Arsenal themselves.

I think Southampton fans are realistic, but depending on how the news comes out about our players who withdrew from international football, that might turn their heads a little bit and give them a bit of a confidence boost. We won’t get anything from Arteta, but I bet there are some back-channel comments on social media from reliable sources like HandOfArsenal or the likes. So I suspect we’ll get something either Friday night or during the day on Saturday.

Whatever the situation, though, this squad has been built for games like this, so some of those players who have had less game time will need to be ready and prepped to deliver. I’m talking the likes of Lewis-Skelly, Mosquera, Norgaard, Gabriel Jesus, et al. They need to prove that the manager can call upon them, and with a week to prepare for this one (mentally, I mean – I know MLS, Mosquera, and Norgaard have been away with their respective national teams), knowing that they will probably start, I expect them to be ready.

Right, that’s it from me today. Back tomorrow as I start to look at what some of the pundits, commentators, and ex-pro’s are predicting ahead of this one. Catch you then.